Two racquets were created for Open Score by Robert Rauschenberg. The principle used was that of the wireless microphone, invented in the 1960s. This technology was primarily used in television studios, but it had not yet been marketed to the general public. Another difficulty involved miniaturizing the transmitters to allow them to fit into the wooden handle of the racquet. Bill Kaminski was able to achieve this. For the first performance of Open Score, only one racquet – that of Mimi Kanarek - had been completed. It was for this reason that a wire could be seen running from Frank Stella’s racquet to his trouser pocket; the non-miniaturized transmitter and preamplifier were attached to the player’s body and wired to the microphone affixed to the racquet.

Tool Description

Racquets modified to transmit ball impact data by FM waves to the control booth.

Summary of Materials

Tennis racquet, electronic components.

Components

Microphone, FM transmitter, preamplifier.

Operating Procedure

A microphone attached to the racquet captured the impact of the ball against the racquet strings. The microphone was hooked up to an FM transmitter concealed in the handle. The transmitter sent the data (an antenna was attached to the racquet face) to an FM receiver discretely placed at the side of the stage and linked to the control booth.

Effects

Remote control of lights in response to the impact of the balls hitting the racquets.